Boris Johnson has dismissed the threat of Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons.
Boris Johnson has dismissed Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats
The former British Prime Minister labelled the tyrant as "the fat boy in Dickens" who wants to "make our flesh creep" with hollow threats of nuclear destruction.
Speaking at an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Johnson told the world not to obsess about Putin or worry about an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
He said: "Putin wants to present it as a nuclear stand-off between NATO and Russia.
"Nonsense. He's not going to use nuclear weapons, OK. He's like the fat boy in Dickens, he wants to make our flesh creep. He wants us to think about it. He's never going to do it."
Johnson - who was introduced as a "legendary figure" in Ukraine - referenced a servant character in Dickens' novel 'The Pickwick Papers', known as the fat boy, who tells an old lady, 'I want to make your flesh creep', with a shocking revelation.
The former PM argued that deploying nuclear weapons would put Putin into a "complete economic cryogenic paralysis" and would turn states such as China and India against him.
Johnson also urged the audience at Davos to "stop worrying about Kremlinology".
He quipped: "It's difficult to work out what's gonna happen in UK politics, let alone in the Kremlin.
"What we've got to focus on is supporting Ukraine and giving Volodymyr Zelensky the tools he needs to finish the job. And they can win and they will win."
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